Godfather
by monique42
Summary: POST DEATHLY HALLOWS. Some spoilers. With Teddy in his arms, Harry considers his new responsibility.


**Godfather**

Harry looked down at the baby boy in his arms and could not help but feel overwhelmed with sadness. Most people would consider the sight of this cooing infant with his small tuft of hair that was currently a bright turquoise and big brown eyes that were sleepily opening and closing intermittently a reason to be filled up with warmth and happiness. Then again, most people had not been orphans since they were tiny children.

Harry knew better than anyone what it was going to be like for Teddy Lupin growing up without his parents. That feeling of loneliness, of not knowing exactly where you belong or where you come from because you cannot come home every day to see the people who created you, standing there as proof of your being. No matter how many friends you made that became like family to you or how much you managed to find out about your parents it would never be as it could have been. As it should have been.

Although Harry knew it might not be entirely possible, he was going to do his best to make sure that Teddy would never feel quite as alone in the world as he had been, for Teddy was not as alone. Teddy had his grandmother, who loved him very much, who took great delight in watching his hair change colour every few hours as it reminded her so much of her late daughter. Teddy would not have to spend the first eleven years of his life living in a cupboard under the stairs in the house of relatives who would be much happier if he mysteriously disappeared forever, he would grow up in a warm, nurturing and loving environment. Also, Teddy would have Harry, his godfather.

The irony of being the godfather of an orphaned boy had not been lost on Harry and while he was sure that Lupin and Tonks had no plans to die before their son could even sit up by himself, he could not help but think that they could not have picked anyone more suited to the job. Harry wanted to have a close relationship with Teddy, to see him as often as he could, give him all the help and advice he asked for (even if he did not actually ask for it) and to tell him everything he wanted to know about his parents. He wanted to tell Teddy of their bravery, their kindness, their talents and their very different types of undeniable charm. Most of all he wanted to tell Teddy how much they loved their son and how they would want him to live a full and happy life.

He wanted to play the same role Sirius had played in his life, although not for long enough. Sirius, more than anyone had came closest to filling that gap in Harry's heart that could only ever be completely filled by his parents, but he too, had been taken away from him. Harry was going to make sure that he would be there for Teddy whenever he needed him, as long as he needed him, even if that meant learning how to be a bit more careful so he could stay around for longer.

He felt honoured that Lupin and Tonks had chosen him as godfather to their precious baby boy as it meant that they trusted him and knew he would always look out for Teddy. But he also felt extremely guilty as it was his fault that it fell to him to look out for Teddy. They had died in a battle to defend his life. Often his mind would race and he would end up posing cruel questions to himself; if he had found the diadem quicker would it have made a difference? Would he have confronted Voldemort sooner? Would the Battle of Hogwarts have ended before Lupin, Tonks, Fred and so many others had lost their lives for him?

He had voiced these feelings to Hermione and Ron who had both told him to cease thinking such things immediately. If Harry had not acted as he had and destroyed Voldemort, he would still be conducting his reign of terror and many more lives would have been lost and Teddy would have probably lost his own life because of his werewolf blood. Harry had secured what Lupin and Tonks had died fighting for; a world where people did not have to hide their ancestry or bloodline for fear of being killed, a society where being part-werewolf was not the worst thing in the world, the type of community their son had the right to grow up in and Harry needed to focus on that.

He did not look forward to telling Teddy Lupin why his parents died before he ever got a chance to know them as he knew that no reason or explanation would ever be good enough. But the fact that he knew this made him the man for the job. Teddy's tiny body tensed for a moment then relaxed as he let out a small yawn and what sounded oddly like a gentle purr and Harry watched as the tot's hair turned purple. For some reason, he found this comforting and a grin appeared on his mouth as the sight of the infant caused a feeling of warmth and happiness to overwhelm him. Teddy Lupin would grow up happy and loved and along with many others Harry would make sure of it, because that's what being a Godfather meant to Harry.


End file.
